Heretofore and presently, most electrical storage batteries, of the type used in association with generators or alternators driven by internal combustion engines for supplying electrical current to starters, lighting systems and other accessories of the engines, have been and are provided with upstanding tapered positive and negative terminal posts for clamping engagement with the internal surfaces of the collars of clamp-type end terminals of positive and negative electrical cables or conductors. Of course, the tapering of the battery posts is adapted to facilitate detachment of clamp-type cable end terminals therefrom. Since this type of clamp collar is in the form of a yoke having a transverse adjusting bolt and nut for varying its internal diameter, it is difficult to install and remove. Moreover, its electrical connection to a battery terminal post is frequently so loose and/or corrosion builds up therebetween that increased resistance to flow of electrical current results with consequent loss of power to said starters and other accessories. It has been found that this corrosion and power loss may be minimized by interposing an auxiliary terminal, having a collar for positive attachment, such as by homogeneous welding, to a battery terminal post and a post or stud for clamping engagement by a cable terminal, between the battery post and cable terminal so as to space the latter apart. Usually, the studs of the auxiliary terminals are screwthreaded for engagement by a nut or other complementary fastener to confine the flat apertured lug of a cable terminal adapter or fitting thereupon as disclosed by the following U.S. Pat. Nos.
1,175,651, Marko, Mar. 4, 1916; PA1 2,003,053, Pavlovic et al., May 28, 1935, PA1 2,578,191, Longaker, Dec. 11, 1951.
As illustrated by Pavlovic et al, it is highly desirable to weld or otherwise permanently join the collar of an auxiliary terminal to the terminal post of a battery.
In the patent to Logan, U.S. Pat. No. 1,663,013, Mar. 20, 1928, the post of an auxiliary terminal is adapted to be engaged by the clamp collar of a cable terminal.
Somewhat similar collar-to-collar auxiliary terminals are shown by French Pat. Nos. 895.159 (1945) and 923.807 (1947), the auxiliary terminal of the former patent having a screwthreaded stud projecting from its post and a coacting wing nut for confining a cable clamp on said post. Although an apertured flat lug type of cable terminal could be confined on this stud by the wing nut, it has been found that this structure is impractical because of the elevated height of said stud which necessitates increased height of the battery compartment. Also, the relatively small diameter of the upper portion of a tapered battery post provides insufficient support for mounting a stud therein.
Heretofore, insofar as known, separate and different auxiliary battery terminals have been required for the different types of cable end terminals, i.e., auxiliary terminals having either a post or a screwthreaded stud.